Article:Glover Hangs his Cleats up After 13 Long Seasons

The 34-year old defensive tackle from San Diego, CA decided to call it quits, retiring from the NFL after 13 seasons with four different teams.

Though he never did get that Super Bowl ring that every NFL player dreams of, I would call his career a success. He managed to stay in the league for over a decade, something that a majority of players don’t get the chance to do, mainly due to recurring injuries or other personal problems. During those years, Glover went to six Pro Bowls and led the NFL in sacks back in 2000.

Glover recorded 83.5 sacks throughout his career, good enough for a tie with Leonard Marshall and Trevor Pryce at 37 th on the all-time list, right behind guys such as Howie Long and Willie McGinest. Glover spent a majority of the time in a New Orleans Saints uniform (1997-2001) after spending his rookie season of 1996 with the Oakland Raiders. Glover played in just two games as a Raider and recorded just two tackles in those games. He left New Orleans with 221 tackles, 50 sacks, 11 forced fumbles and an interception during five seasons.

He then moved on to Dallas where he continued to dominate opposing QB's, recording 21.5 sacks in his four seasons with the Cowboys. Like most great players, Glover didn't let injury affect him much as he played all sixteen games eight times out of his 13 seasons.

Glover spent a good four years in Dallas at the defensive tackle position.

At six foot two, 290 pounds, Glover was an immediate force up front and was a huge problem for the opposition. His numbers, most people would say, aren’t quite Hall of Fame worthy, but were good enough to get on the All-Pro team four times (’98, ’00, ’02, ’03) in addition to his six consecutive Pro Bowl appearances, as stated above.

Glover finished out his career with three seasons in St. Louis, where his play didn't affect the outcome of games quite as much, but the fear was still forced upon the opposing line with his presence.

Other awards Glover accumulated during his career as an NFL player include “Man of the Year” and “Unsung hero” awards in the early 2000’s, and in ’07 was awarded the Walter Payton Man of the Year award by the St. Louis Rams. His career may not have been HOF worthy, but it was quite a turnout for a fifth-round draft pick, I'd say.